Dear Parents and Carers

Welcome to Week 8 of Term 1 and the second week of our Lenten journey. It is hard to believe that we only have 4 weeks before the first holidays of the year. This year has just flown, even with all its trials and tribulations including COVID cases, ongoing RAT testing, rain, flooding, mould, mosquitos, the odd spider trying to avoid the

rain and frustrated children who have had to miss playing down at Keith Hockey Oval due to the soggy nature of the ground. Despite all of this, the children have continued to demonstrate their resilience to change, are settled and working towards
achieving their best both inside and outside of the classroom.

As you are aware, Mr Sykes is on renewal leave at the moment and will be, until the end of term. In his absence, I will be in the Acting Principal role.

On Ash Wednesday, to start our Lenten journey, Pope Francis announced 2 March as a day of prayer and fasting for Ukraine. Half a world away we
watch with concern, hoping the world's sanctions may effect a change to Russian aggression, and we offer our prayers for peace. In this time of
turmoil in our world, one can often feel helpless to make a difference however, one act that all humans can do is to pray. In the coming weeks, I
urge you pray for the people of Ukraine using Pope Francis’ prayer:

I encourage you to speak to your children about the atrocities happening in the Ukraine as well as the suffering currently being experienced by our
fellow Australians in Queensland and New South Wales, due to the recent devasting floods. We remember our brothers and sisters close to home
and abroad and acknowledge with gratitude the places we are lucky to live in and the life we are able to live. As a family, I ask that together you
pray for our fellow people because prayer is a powerful tool and something we can all do, anywhere, anytime to help make a difference.

Staffing News

As many people are aware, Miss Tina Porter and her husband are expecting  their first child together, due in May. Miss Porter will take  maternity leave from the end of Term 1 2022 through to the end of the year. As a result, a recruitment process has been undertaken and a teacher has been appointed to teach 6 Blue from the beginning of Term 2 through to the end of the year. The new teacher is Miss Sarah Napier. Sarah is currently teaching at Holy Family Catholic Primary School, Ingelburn. 

We welcome Sarah, who is excited about starting with us, to the Stella Maris community, and I know she will bring great life and learning opportunities to the children in her care and to our community.

Student Voice

One of our important Year 6 leadership groups, is the Student Voice group.
These children act as voices for all students at Stella Maris. Over the last couple of weeks, Mr Sykes has been meeting with this group of leaders to
outline their role and appoint them to certain grades to be their voice. Last week, they visited their allocated classes and conducted an interview to
find out how the children at Stella Maris feel about certain aspects of school life. The results from children K-6 are as follows:

WHAT IS GOOD ABOUT STELLA MARIS?
 Great teachers and staff
 A variety of learning opportunities
 Lots of technology
 Rewards- Class of the Week / Principal Lunches
 Sporting opportunities
 Our school rules- The 4 Bs
 Gala Days/ Carnivals
 Excursions/Camps
 Extra activities- STEM/VEX, Writing Club, SPLICED, Choir, Band.
 Liturgies
 Year 6 Leadership Groups
 Playground equipment and courts.
 Our location close to the beach
 Science experiments
 Mini Vinnies
 Learning outside the classrooms.
 Great friends
 Kinder/Year 6 buddies
 We are kept safe

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST ABOUT LEARNING?
 Interesting lessons.
 Fun activities.
 Using technology.
 Outdoor education.
 Doing Art

 Being given time to complete work.
 Project Based Learning(PBL).
 Having the opportunity to work with the other class in each grade.
 Learning in groups.
 Learning about Jesus/God.
 Being supported by staff to understand work.

WHAT ARE SOME PROBLEMS WE EXPERIENCE?
 Handball and basketball issues with people not playing by the rules and being over-competitive.
 Litter being left on the ground after exacting our lunches/recess food.
 Toilet doors need repairs.
 The top court being out of bounds on morning duty.
 The basketball net needs replacing.
 Too many children going to the toilet during class time.
 The canteen lines need more order/supervision.
 Spiders in the toilets.

WHAT SUGGESTIONS DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE OUR SCHOOL BETTER?
 More covered seating.
 Put barriers at the bottom of the fences to stop handballs going out on the road.
 Re-paint the red out of bounds lines in the playground.

As is evident, the children were very articulate about the good things about Stella Maris and things that could be improved from their perspective. Mr Sykes spoke to all the children about the results at assembly last Friday with some of the things mentioned, already in train for implementation. Giving students’ a voice in their school, enables teachers and the leadership team to learn from students how they see school, and to build a better understanding of factors that affect them in their learning and play.

Clean up Australia -25 March 2022

Clean Up Australia inspires and empowers communities to clean up, fix up and conserve our environment. What was started over thirty years ago, by
Ian Kiernan who had a simple idea to make a difference in his own backyard, has now become the nation's largest community-based environmental event.
Of course, Australia's waste challenges can't be solved in just one day, so over the past three decades, Clean Up Australia has evolved into an organisation that works with community, government and businesses to provide practical solutions to help us all live more sustainably every day of the year.

Today our focus is as much on preventing rubbish entering our environment as it is removing what has already accumulated. Traditionally, Clean Up Australia is held on the first Sunday of March however due to the recent bad weather, the day needed to be changed. This year, the children will be participating in Clean Up Australia on Friday 25 March. The children will be allocated an area to clean up as a class and contribute to keeping our environment clean. Students are encouraged to bring gloves to keep them safe during the clean-up.

School Uniform

We have been in a transitional phase for our new uniform and were hoping for a full change during 2022. However, we recognise that some people have experienced financial hardships due to loss of work during the pandemic and there has been issues with supply from Lowes in the past, also a result of the pandemic. The major obsolete changes to the uniform include:

 The removal of the green check long pants for girls; the old-style sloppy joe with a hood and the green knitted jumper; the old spray jackets and the sports fleece track pants.

Whilst these items will continue to be accepted, it is the expectation that ALL children will be completely in the new summer and winter uniform
from the beginning of 2023. 

Unexplained Absences

There are many unexplained absences across our school. If your child has any unexplained absences, can you please log in to the Compass parent portal and enter an attendance note for these days.  Absences are required to be explained within 7 days of the absence, by the Department of Health.  Shortly, parents will not be able to put the absences into Compass if the 7 days have passed and they will need to ring the school office and give the explanation over the phone.  Therefore, letters requesting explanations for absence will be sent out on a weekly basis and will need to be logged into Compass as soon as possible.

Thought for the week

‘Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better,
do better’. Maya Angelou

Warm regards
Angela Crandell
Acting Principal

This Sunday’s Gospel

Lk 13:1-9

The parable of the fig tree.

All Saints Catholic Parish Shellharbour

Mass times: All Saints Church 

19 College Ave, Shellharbour City

Saturday  5.00pm Vigil, Sunday 9.00am, 5.00pm 

Mass at Stella Maris 

Unfortunately, at this time we will not be celebrating class Masses with students at Stella Maris.

The Sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation)

Last week we concluded the Reconciliation Workshops  in the Stella Maris Library and the Grealy Centre. Thank you to the teachers who volunteered their time to lead these important sessions and the parents who continued to support their children in these experiences.

The two ceremonies for First Reconciliation occurred on Wednesday 17th March at 4pm and 6:30pm.  The Sacrament was welcoming and the students and their families were joyous in celebrating the Sacrament.    

Loving God, help us to teach our children that you love us totally and unconditionally. Help us to encourage our children to grow in love and to learn how to say sorry, knowing that you always forgive. Give us the courage to pray with our children and to share our faith with them as we journey together. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen

If there are any questions related to any of the Sacraments, please contact the parish office via email shellharbourcity@dow.org.au

   
Holy Week Remembrance Friday 8 and 29 April at 2pm

We would like to invite parents, grandparents and friends to a Holy Week Remembrance under the COLA.  The liturgies will be presented by the Leaders of Liturgy and each grade.  On 8 April we have Kindergarten, Year 1 and 2 performing with Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 on 29 April.

St Patrick’s Day 17 March

Saint Patrick’s Day, is held on 17 March each year, and celebrates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. This feast day has been celebrated for more than 1,000 years. 

The tradition goes that Saint Patrick, born in Roman Britain, was kidnapped and enslaved in Ireland at the age of 16. However, Saint Patrick managed to escape, later returning to Ireland and bringing Christianity to the Irish. Saint Patrick managed to convert many people to Christianity.

Harmony Day

Harmony Week celebrates Australia’s cultural diversity.

It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.​  We will celebrate firstly with a mufti day on the 24 March. Students are asked to wear orange clothes in the spirit of the day and bring in a gold coin donation towards Project Compassion.

Moreover, this year, Mrs Jenna Hogan is composing a whole school song that will be shared with parents, carers and friends under the COLA on Thursday 24 March at 2:30pm.  Please come and join us for harmony on Harmony Day and feel free to also join in the spirit wearing orange!

Project Compassion

Our whole school lenten fundraiser spans across the six weeks of Lent each year.  Project Compassion brings thousands of Australian schools, parishes and supporters together to raise funds for people living in some of the most vulnerable communities across the world. 

Students are getting involved this year in classes by watching the stories of Project Compassion and helping with fundraising.

Your generous support can help change lives today - and For All Future Generations.

Each child at school should now have brought a box home to assist with fundraising.  Please encourage family members to give generously.  Once your box is full, bring it back to school and we will add the funds to the on-going total.  Together, we can make a difference!

On Tuesday, the Leaders of Fundraising visited each classroom sharing our Project Compassion mission to support all future generations and reverence the story of all people.

Mae, Lucy, Connor, Holly, Ivy and Halle showed our students at Stella how they can live like Jesus and follow his example of helping those in need.

Please give generously in your project compassion boxes as every donation counts!

God Bless

Alicia Sanchez-Levine

Religious Education Coordinator

On Monday 14 March, 14 students represented Stella Maris in the Swimming Selection Trials.  The students participated in various events and gave 100 percent effort in every race.  The boys and girls represented our school with pride and displayed a fantastic team spirit.  We would like to thank the parents who organised getting their child/ren to Corrimal for the event.

Six students have qualified to represent the Wollongong Diocese at the Mackillop trials on the 22 March at Homebush.  We congratulate Siair Paillas and Oscar Creighton who qualified for the 50m freestyle and Hugo Manns, Reid Coelho, Harry Thomson and Blake Langendam who qualified for the 4 x 50m relay.  

PLEASE submit your Kindergarten enrolment application !

Kindergarten enrolments for 2023 will close on 8 April 2022. 

Due to the very high amount of applications received for 2023, no more applications will be accepted after this date.

In line with the CeDow Social Media Policy, people are reminded that, when posting on social media pages, you should remain positive and refrain from comments which may portray our school or other schools in an indifferent light.

We thank you for your compliance with this. 

In the last few weeks, there have been an increasing number of parents and students not using the school crossing.  Could we please ask that this is used regularly to prevent accidents and to enourage our students to do the right thing when crossing the road. 

Uniform shop Reminder

Please be reminded the uniform shop is open from 8:30am each Friday.

Appointments are no longer required.

We are calling on any donations as we are low in some stock.

Donations can be made to the uniform shop directly on Fridays or any other day to the office. Items must be school wear and washed prior to donation.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Canteen News

We are a school run canteen and rely on volunteers to operate.

Canteen is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to make and prepare lunch orders and serve the children over the counter.

Online orders can be made via the My School Connect app - www.myschoolconnect.com.au/stellamarisps click on create account.